A wall mounted or room air conditioner/heat pump is typically constructed as an outer sleeve and a chassis (two pieces) which are adapted to be installed either in a window or through a wall opening. At one end, it is cosmetically attractive to extend into the room which is to be cooled or heated during operation. The opposite end is exposed to the exterior for heat rejection or heat pickup.
In accordance with known cooling operation, heat is taken from the room and rejected out through the back end of the cabinet or case through a condenser. This cabinet is normally described as a sleeve, referring to the surrounding rectangular metal container. The sleeve contains a chassis which can slide in and out of the sleeve. The bottom side of the chassis will be described hereinafter as the "pan." It is a pan especially in the sense that it collects liquid condensate. During the routine operation of the air conditioner, excess humidity in the room air is removed. This humidity is converted into condensate, collecting on a coil within the air conditioner and it is guided or directed by gravity, dripping onto the pan and towards the back end of the pan. It sometimes drips off the back end of the pan to the exterior of the building, when the condensate removal is excessive.
Certain problems arise from the dripping water. It incessantly keeps the surface areas below the window or wall opening wet. If the structure is wood construction, or if there is any area which is susceptible to accelerated rotting when wet, undue damage can arise as a result of the water flow. The possibility exists that the window casement or wooden framing may rot completely away and require extensive carpentry repair. Moreover, as the water runs down the side, even should the side of the building be water resistant, the water will collect pigments, and discolor the surface area. It can take on any color from a stained dirty brown to a green mold color, all to the detriment and harm to the building which is being air conditioned. It is with this problem, in the background that the present apparatus is set forth.
It is sometimes difficult to service such window or wall unit air conditioners. They are typically constructed so the chassis can be withdrawn into the room. If the room is at ground level, service personnel can approach from the exterior quite readily. If, however, the unit is mounted either high in a ground level room or in a multistory structure, gaining access to the exterior wall is quite difficult. Such access cannot be readily obtained without ladders or scaffolding. Accordingly, it is highly desirable that the condensate which travels on the gently sloping pan be guided to the exterior and directed away from the supporting wall and other structures so that condensate disposal is easily accomplished, preferably through a drain tube.
The present apparatus is a retrofit device which can be installed without requiring external access to the window air conditioning unit. It clips to a lip which is incorporated on the bottom exterior of the sleeve. For purposes of efficient heat rejection, there is a louvered or screened panel at the back end of the air conditioner. Heat rejection is caused by air flowing over the condenser and then through this panel. This panel is removed to expose the lip on the bottom exterior of the sleeve. The present apparatus clips to that lip and is therefore installed easily after withdrawing the window unit into the room. The unit can be quickly withdrawn from the fixed sleeve into the room, the louvered panel removed, the present invention installed on the outside edge (lip) of the sleeve, and thereafter the window air conditioner is repositioned in the sleeve opening, along with the louvered panel. The louvered panel secures the present invention in place.
The present apparatus, when installed, does not change the dimensions of the sleeve or unit, so that the unit is easily reinstalled into the same opening. For this reason, it is particularly helpful after easy installation to guide and direct the collected condensate away from the building. This reduces damage from rotting, mildew, or fungus on the building. It also avoids the unsightly stains. It further reduces building maintenance by avoiding the necessity of repainting and the like.
Patent references which set forth structures known heretofore include:
______________________________________ Pat. No. Inventor ______________________________________ 4,513,586 Jennings et al. 4,416,327 Nakada et al. 3,000,192 Mullin et al. 4,766,738 Ebata 3,724,233 Pugh, et al. ______________________________________
The most material of the foregoing references is the '586 patent. This discloses a combination compressor support with a drain pan which has a drain bracket. It is used to collect and dispose of condensate from operation of the air conditioning equipment. In particular, it collects and diverts the condensate out through the protruding pan which is attached by a set of screws as detailed fully therein. A gusset 64 also functions as a mounting bracket and has a drain passage therethrough.
The apparatus of the present disclosure sets forth a mechanism which is affixed to the pre-existent window or wall air conditioning unit without requiring modification and the device is attached by latching into the sleeve lip just at the edge of the pan. The present apparatus has been summarized briefly above, but a better understanding of this apparatus will be obtained upon a review of the drawings which are incorporated below, and which relate to the detailed description set forth in the specification.